Not ageism, not when I was there. We'd hire people in their 60s if they could do the job. But in a way, banking is leaving Switzerland: the general trend across

Not ageism, not when I was there. We'd hire people in their 60s if they could do the job. But in a way, banking is leaving Switzerland: the general trend across industries is against putting more and more roles in Switzerland when they could just as well be done for much less elsewhere. That's what is happening everywhere. The Swiss folks weren't impressed because "it's a Swiss bank!" but the thing is, it's not a Swiss bank-- it's a global bank with Swiss heritage. As of when I departed, nobody was being shoved out of their seat, but people who left weren't being replaced in-country unless their job involved turning a crank that had to be physically located in Switzerland. If the crank could be moved, it got moved. Perqs like company cars and a special restaurant for execs and boni 2* comp are long gone for newcomers. Also there are half as many huge banks in Switzerland as there were a little over a year ago, and there certainly aren't twice as many jobs in that one remaining huge bank as there were a little over a year ago, because of economies of scale. As for comp: Zurich is expensive, Switzerland is expensive, and the FAANGS have to kick out proper comp to attract people because EVERYTHING pays good money. A semi-skilled entry-level physical laborer at one of the financials can come in the door at nearly 100k, because that person has to be able to pay rent and food, too. But it's not more expensive than California. My rent on a 3-storey townhouse with parking in a close Zurich suburb on the train line was 2250 CHF, and I bought our food at Lidl and Aldi for maybe 150/week. Health insurance 550/mo for both of us. You'll pay that kind of money for rent and food in Dublin these days on a far lower salary, and you'll lose a lot more than 10-15% to tax, as well. Switzerland is a special place. Big tech has fantastic comp anywhere for the right person, tho! A FOAF at a FAANG in Poland recently bought outright a new-build $500k house with 3 years of salary-derived savings and bonus.